Stockholm Tap Water for Coffee Brewing

Water is a crucial factor in brewing a delicious cup of coffee. Fortunately, Stockholm's tap water quality falls within the Specialty Coffee Association's recommended range.

Here are the key parameters from the Stockholm water report:

• Total Hardness (GH): 80-110 ppm (SCA: 50-175 ppm)
• Alkalinity (KH): 54-80 mg/l (SCA: 40-70 mg/l)
• Calcium (Ca): 25-35.1 mg/l
• Magnesium (Mg): 4.5-5.4 mg/l
• Sodium (Na): 11-14 mg/l
• Potassium (K): 2.4-4mg/l
• Chloride (Cl): 14-19 mg/l

Roasters have their own target levels for their recommended water recipes. While there's no single perfect water recipe, these ranges help us understand where Stockholm's tap water might fall short.

They're also helpful in predicting how beans from different roasters might turn out. For instance, I often struggle to get the best flavors from Coffee Collective beans because they aim for lower total hardness and alkalinity (GH40 KH40).

Looking at ranges from different roasters:

• Our GH of 80-110 is fairly common, with several roasters falling in this range
• Our KH of 54-80 runs a bit high, as most roasters prefer 20-60

In my experience, Stockholm's tap water produces great brews. While custom water recipes can help fine-tune results or match specific roaster recommendations, the convenience of using tap water is hard to beat.

Although, as often happens in my coffee journey, my curiosity tends to prevail over convenience. I'm planning to start exploring the world of custom minerals for coffee brewing water.